DICTIONARY OF SCIENTIFIC QUANTITIES - Volume I

Dedication

To my grandkids:

Adam, Bahya, Louisa

Susana and Gabriel

Dawoud

This volume is dedicated in all sincerity

All my family members

Arthur Godfrey Batte

About this book

The book in the hands of the reader represents the first volume of Encyclopedia of Scientific Quantities and Units of Measurements. The encyclopedia consists of three volumes representing together the most comprehensive encyclopedia of Physical quantities and units of measurement. The three volumes of the encyclopedia are:  

Volume I-Dictionary of Scientific Quantities.

-  Consists of more than 1000 Entries

-  Each entry consists of:

o  Name of quantity

o  Symbol

o  Definition

o  Units

o  Dimensions

o  Cross-reference

Volume II - Dictionary of Scientific Units of Measurements:

Consists of 2400 entries

Volume III: Tables of Conversion

More than 400 conversion tables arranged:

❍  Alphabetically

❍  By Category

Volume I and Volume II are dictionaries that give definitions for the entities that form the dictionary. Some rules are considered while arranging the entities. The reader must be aware of the rules to be able to use the dictionary easily. We are going to start this general introduction by presenting such rules.

About the authors

Bio: Professor Dawoud Shenouda Dawoud

Prof. Dawoud Shenouda Dawoud has a BSc (1965) and MSc (1969) from Cairo University in Communication Engineering. He completed his Ph.D. in Russia in 1973 in the field of Computer hardware, where he succeeded in owning 3 Patents in the field of designing new types of memory, which was the beginning of the FPGAs. In 1984, he was promoted to full Professor at the Egyptian Academy of Science and Technology, National Electronic Research Institute. During the period from 1973 to 1990, he supervised more than 5 PhDs and 15 MSc degrees, all of them focused in the fields of computer and embedded system designs. During the period from 1990-1999, he established the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Botswana. During this period, he supervised 3 PhDs and 7 MSc degrees. In the year 2000, he became Professor of Computer Engineering and Head of the Computer Engineering Department at the University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa. For 10 years, he supervised research in the field of Security of Mobile Ad hoc Networks. He supervised 2 PhDs and many MSc degrees in this field and published more than 30 papers. During the same period, he was visiting the National University of Rwanda to run an MSc programme in Communication. He supervised about 15 MSc students during these 4 years before moving to the National University of Rwanda in 2010 to become the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.

In 2011 he moved to Uganda, where he became the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the International University of East Africa (IUEA), where he currently remains. During this time, he also served as the Vice Chancellor of IUEA for a period of 3 years.

Across his career, he has published over 200 Journal and Conference papers, as well as books in the fields of computer engineering, microcontroller system design, embedded system design and

Security of Mobil Ad hoc Networks.

Bio of: Dr. A.G. Batte

Arthur Godfrey Batte, originally from Kampala, Uganda, began his educational journey by graduating from Makerere College School in 1998. He continued his academic pursuits by enrolling at Makerere University in 1999, where he successfully earned a B.Sc. in Geology in 2003, followed by an M.Sc. in Geology in 2006.

In 2007, he expanded his knowledge base by obtaining a Master's degree in Geoinformation Science and Earth Observations from the International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observations I.T.C. in the Netherlands. His quest for knowledge continued, leading him to complete a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from the University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 2012.

Arthur Godfrey Batte embarked on a career in academia and research when he joined the Department of Geology and Petroleum Studies at Makerere University in 2008. Over the years, he has been actively involved in teaching various courses in Petroleum Geophysics, Reservoir Geophysics, Remote Sensing, and G.I.S., both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His dedication and expertise in the field led to his progression from a lecturer and researcher at Makerere University from 2012 to 2018 to his current position as a Senior Lecturer and the Head of the Department.

Throughout his career, he has played a significant role in mentoring and supervising graduate students in the fields of geology, petroleum, and geophysics. Arthur Godfrey Batte has made substantial contributions to the scientific community, with a focus on Seismology and Hydrogeology. His research has primarily revolved around using seismic data to gain insights into the Earth's dynamics and internal structure. Additionally, he has actively participated in the review process for numerous peer-reviewed scientific journals and has been engaged in national university curriculum reviews.

Table of Contents

Dedication

About the authors

General  G.1....................................................Quantities and Units

G.1.1 Meaning of Quantity

G.1.1.1 Symbols and Nomenclature of Physical Quantities

G.1.1.2 Use of Subscripts and Indices with the Symbols

G.1.1.3. Size

G.1.2 Meaning of Measurement

G.1.3 Dimensions, Units, Conversion Factors, and Significant Digits

G.1.3.1 Dimensions and Units

G.1.3.2 Gravitational conversion constant, gc

G.1.3.3 The Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity

G.3.1.4 Significant Digits

G.4.............................................................About this book

VOLUME I QUANTITIES:

Dictionary of Scientific (Physical and Engineering) Quantities

VOLUME II: SCIENTIFIC UNITS OF MEASUREMENTS

VOLUME III: TABLES OF CONVERSION

Physics Symbols List and Their Names

Dictionary of Scientific (Physical and Engineering) Quantities

A

ABBE NUMBER

ABSEMENT (or ABSITION)

ABSEMENT, STRAIN

ABSORBANCE

ABSORBANCY

ABSORBED DOSE

ABSORBED DOSE RATE

ABSORPTANCE

ABSORPTANCE INTERNAL

ABSORPTION

ABSORPTION AREA, EQUIVALENT

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT, LINEAR

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT, MASS

ABSORPTION COEFFICIENT, MOLAR

ABSORPTION CROSS-SECTION

ABSORPTION INDEX

ABSORPTIVITY

ABSORPTIVE, MOLAR

ACCELERATION

ACCELERATION, ANGULAR

ACCELERATION, CENTRIPETAL

ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE

ACTION

ACTIVE CURRENT

ACTIVE VOLTAGE

ACTIVE VOLT-AMPERE

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY COEFFICIENT

ADMITTANCE

ADMITTANCE (THERMAL)

ADSORPTION

ADSORPTION COEFFICIENT

ADSORPTIVITY

AFFINITY

AFFINITY CONSTANT

AGGREGATE MODULUS

ALBEDO

ALTITUDE

AMOUNT CONCENTRATION

AMOUNT OF SUBSTANCE

AMPERAGE

AMPHORA

AMPLITUDE

AMPLITUDE LEVEL

ANGLE (ONE)

ANGLE CONTACT

ANGLE, LOSS

ANGLE, SOLID

ANGLE OF REPOSE

ANGULAR DISPLACEMENT

ANGULAR DIAMETER DISTANCE

ANGULAR DISTANCE

APERPTURE CONDUCTIVITY

API gravity

ARCHIMENDES NUMBER

AREA

AREA DENSITY

AREA, MOMENT, MAGNETIC

AREA, SPECIFIC

AREAL VELOCITY

ATOMIC POLARIZATION

ATOMIC WEIGHT (or Relative Atomic Mass)

ATTENUATION

ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT (1)

ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT (2)

ATTENUATION COEFFICIENT, LINEAR

ATTENUATION CONSTANT

ATWOOD NUMBER

AVOGADRO CONSTANT (NUMBER)

AZIMUTH

B

BAGNOLD NUMBER

BANDWIDTH

BASIC REPRODUCTION NUMBER

BAT

BEJAN NUMBER

BINGHAM NUMBER

BIOT NUMBER

BIOT NUMBER, MASS TRANSFER

BITRATE

BITRATE, AVERAGE

BLAKE NUMBER

BODENSTEIN NUMBER

BOHR MAGNETON NUMBER

BOHR RADIUS

BOLLARD PULL

BOLTZMANN CONSTANT

BOND NUMBER (Bo),

BREADTH

BRIGHTNESS,

BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE

BRILLIANCE, POINT

BRINKMAN NUMBER

BULK MODULUS

BULK MODULUS, FLUID (K)

C

CALORIFIC VALUE

CALORIFIC VALUE, VOLUME BASIS.

CANDLE POWER.

CAPACITANCE

CAPACITANCE, ACOUSTIC

CAPACITANCE MUTUAL.

CAPACITANCE, SPECIFIC INDUCTIVE

CAPACITANCE THERMAL

CAPACITIVITY

CAPACITOR

CAPACITY

CAPACITY, AMPERE-HOUR

CAPILLARY NUMBER

CATALYTIC ACTIVITY CONCENTRATION

CHANDRASEKHAR NUMBER

CHARACTERISTIC TEMPERATURE

CHARACTERISTIC (WEISS) TEMPERATURE

CHARGE

CHARGE, ELECTRIC

CHARGE DENSITY

CHARGE DENSITY, SURFACE

CHARGE, SPECIFIC

CHARGE, THERMAL

CIRCULAR DICHROISM (CD)

COEFFICIENT OF DETERMINATION

COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION (µ)

COEFFICIENT OF PERFORMANCE

COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION (CV)

COERCIVITY

COHESION (or cohesive attraction or cohesive force)

COLLISION NUMBER

COLOUR TEMPERATURE

COMPLEX REFRACTION INDEX

COMPLIANCE ACOUSTICAL

COMPLIANCE (MECHANICAL)

COMPLIANCE CONSTANT

COMPRESSIBILITY (BULK)

COMPRESSIBILITY FACTORS

COMPRESSION, MODULUS OF

COMOVING AND PROPER DISTANCES

CONCENTRATION

CONCENTRATION MOLAR

CONCENTRATION, CATALYTIC ACTIVITY

CONDUCTANCE

CONDUCTANCE QUANTUM

CONDUCTANCE, SPECIFIC

CONDUCTANCE, THERMAL

CONDUCTIVITY, ELECTRICAL

CONDUCTIVITY, IONIC

CONDUCTIVITY, MOLAR

CONDUCTIVITY THERMAL

CONDUCTION

CONDUCTION, THERMAL

CONSTANT, DIELECTRIC

CONSTANT, ELECTRIC

CONSTANT, MAGNETIC

CORRELATION

COUPLING COEFFICIENT

CRACKLE

CROSS-SECTION (nuclear physics)

CRYSTALLINITY

CURE FACTORS (ENERGY PATTERN FACTORS)

CURIE- TEMPERATURE

CURRENT

CURRENT, CONDUCTION

CURRENT, DISPLACEMENT

CURRENT DENSITY

CURRENT DENSITY, CONDUCTION

CURRENT DENSITY, DISPLACEMENT

CURRENT DENSITY, LINEAR

CURRENT, THERMAL

CURVATURE

CUSEC

D

Damköhler numbers

DAMPING COEFFICIENT

DAMPING RATIO

DARCY NUMBER

DEAN NUMBER

DEBORAH NUMBER

DECAY

DECAY COEFFICIENT

DECAY CONSTANT

DECIBEL

DELTA-v

DENSITY

DENSITY, AREA

DENSITY, LINE

DENSITY, OPTICAL

DENSITY, REFLECTION

DENSITY, RELATIVE

DENSITY, VAPOUR

DEPOSITION POTENTIAL

DERIVATIVES: FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH DERIVATIVES OF POSITION

DIELECTRIC LOSSES

DIELECTRIC RELAXATION TIME

DIFFUSION

DIFFUSION COEFFICIENT

DIFFUSION LENGTH

DIFFUSIVITY, MAGNETIC

DIFFUSIVITY, THERMAL

DIPOLE

DIPOLE MOMENT, ELECTRIC

DIPOLE MOMENT, MAGNETIC

DIRAC CONSTANT

DISINTEGRATION

DISINTEGRATION CONSTANT

DISINTEGRATION RATE, RADIOACTIVE

DISPLACEMENT

DISPLACEMENT, EINSTEIN

DISPLACEMENT, ELECTRIC

DISSIPATION COEFFICIENT

DISTANCE

DISTANCE MODULUS

DISTRIBUTION COEFFICIENT

DOSE

DRAG COEFFICIENT

DUKHIN NUMBER

DYNAMIC MODULUS

E

ECKERT NUMBER

EFFECTIVE ATOMIC NUMBER (EAN)

EFFECTIVE NUMBER OF BOHR MAGNETONS

EFFICIENCY

EFFICIENCY, AMPERE-HOUR

EFFICIENCY, LUMINOUS

EFFICIENCY, RADIANT

EFFICIENCY, RELATIVE LUMINOUS

EFFICIENCY, SPECTRAL LUMINOUS

EFFORT

EKMAN NUMBER

ELASTANCE, Electrical

ELASTIC MODULUS

ELASTICITY (economics)

ELECTRIC CONSTANT

ELECTRIZATION

ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE

ELECTRON AFFINITY

ELECTRONIC LEPTON NUMBER

ELECTRONIC POLARIZABILITY

ELONGATION, FRACTIONAL (or RELATIVE)

EMISSIVITY, TOTAL

EMISSIVITY in FREQUENCY, SPECTRAL

EMISSIVITY in WAVELENGTH, SPECTRAL

EMISSIVITY, DIRECTIONAL

EMISSIVITY, SPECTRAL DIRECTIONAL EMISSIVITY: in frequency and in wavelength

EMISSIVITY, SPECTRAL

EMITTANCE, LUMINOUS

EMITTANCE, RADIANT

ENERGY

ENERGY DENSITY

ENERGY, FREE

ENERGY, LUMINOUS

ENERGY, MOLAR

ENERGY, PARTICLE

ENERGY, RADIANT

ENERGY, REST

ENERGY, SPECIFIC

ENERGY, SPECTRAL RADIANT

ENTHALPY

ENTHALPY, MOLAR

ENTROPY

ENTROPY, DENSITY

ENTROPY FACTOR

ENTROPY, MOLAR

ENTROPY, SPECIFIC

EÖTVÖS NUMBER

EQUIVALENT CONDUCTIVITY

ERICKSEN NUMBER

EULER NUMBER

EXERGY

EXITANCE, LUMINOUS

EXITANCE, RADIANT

EXPANSION COEFFICIENT

EXPANSIVITY

EXPOSURE

EXTINCTION

EXTINCTION COEFFICIENT

EXTINCTION COEFFICIENT, MOLAR

F

FANNAING FRICTION FACTOR

FARADAY CONSTANT

FARADAY EFFICIENCY

FEIGENBAUM CONSTANTS

FIELD

FIELD STRENGTH, ELECTRIC

FIELD STRENGTH, GRAVITATIONAL

FIELD STRENGTH, MAGNETIC

FINE-STRUCTURE CONSTANT

FLUID

FLUIDITY

FLUIDITY, THERMAL

FLUX

FLUX, ELECTRIC

FLUX, FLUID

FLUX, HEAT

FLUX, LUMINOUS

FLUX, MAGNETIC

FLUX, NEUTRON

FLUX, RADIANT

FLUX, SOUND

FLUX DENSITY, ELECTRIC

FLUX DENSITY, MAGNETIC

FLUX DENSITY, MAGNETIC INTRINSIC

FLUX DENSITY, RADIANT

FLUX, ENERGY

f-Number

FORCE

FORCE, CENTRIFUGAL

FOURIER NUMBER

FOURIER NUMBER FOR MASS TRANSFER

FREQUENCY

FREQUENCY, ANGULAR (OR CIRCULAR)

FREQUENCY, ROTATIONAL

FREQUENCY, SPATIAL

FRICTION, ANGLE OF

FRICTION COEFFICIENT

FRICTION FACTOR (F)

FROUDE NUMBER

FUEL CONSUMPTION

G

GAIN (electronics)

GALILEI NUMBER

GIBBS FUNCTION

GÖRTLER VORTICES

GRAETZ NUMBER

GRASH OF NUMBER

GRASHOF NUMBER FOR MASS TRANSFER

H

HAGEN NUMBER

HALF-LIFE, BIOLOGICAL

HALF-LIFE, RADIOACTIVE

HARDNESS

HARDNESS [ELECTROMAGNETIC]

HARDNESS, MAGNETIC

HARTMANN NUMBER

HATTA NUMBER

HEAT

HEAT CAPACITY

HEAT CAPACITY, MOLAL

HEAT CAPACITY, MOLAR

HEAT FLOW RATE

HEAT FLOW RATE DENSITY

HEAT, LATENT

HEAT OF FUSION

HEAT RELEASE

HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT

HUMIODITY

HUMIDITY, ABSOLUTE

HUMIDITY MIXING RATIO

HUMIDITY, RELATIVE

HUMIDITY, SPECIFIC

HYDROSTATIC MODULES

I

ILUMINANCE

ILLUMINATION

ILLUMINATIONS (INTENSITY OF)

IMPEDANCE

IMPEDANCE, ACOUSTICAL

IMPEDANCE, ELECTRICAL

IMPEDANCE, MECHANICAL

IMPEDANCE, MUTUAL

IMPEDENCE, SELF

IMPEDANCE, TRANSFER

IMPEDANCE, SPECIFIC ACOUSTICAL

IMPULSE

INDUCTANCE

INDUCTANCE, MUTUAL

INDUCTANCE, SELF

INDUCTANCE, THERMAL

INDUCTION, ELECTRIC

INDUCTION, MAGNETIC

INDUCTION, MOTIONAL

INERTIA

INTENSITY

INTENSITY LEVEL

INTENSITY, LUMINOUS

INTENSITY, RADIANT

INTENSITY, SOUND

INTERNAL TRANSMISSION DENSITY

INTERVAL

IONIC STRENGTH

IRIBARREN NUMBER

IRRADIANCE

J

JAKOB NUMBER (phase‐change number, Ja)

JERK

Joule–Thomson (Kelvin) coefficient

JOUNCE (or snap)

K

KAPITZA NUMBER

KARLOVITZ NUMBER

KERMA (KINETIC ENERGY RELEASED IN MATTER)

KEULEGAN–CARPENTER NUMBER

KNUDSEN NUMBER

K-space or k-space / Reciprocal space position

KUTATELADZE NUMBER

L

LAPLACE NUMBER

LATENT HEAT, SPECIFIC

LATITUDE

LEAKAGE

LEAKAGE COEFFICIENT

LEAKAGE COEFFICIENT, MAGNETIC

LEWIS NUMBER

LIFT COEFFICIENT

LIGHT

LINKAGE OF MAGNETIC FLUX

LOAD

LOCKHART–MARTINELLI  PARAMETER

LOGARITHMIC DECREMENT

LONGITUDE

LOSCHMIDT’s NUMBER

LOSS ANGLE

LOSS FACTOR

LOUDNESS

LOUDNESS, LEVEL

LOVE NUMBERS

LUMINANCE

LUMINANCE, ADAPTATION

LUMINANCE EQUIVALENT

LUMINANCE FACTOR

LUMINESCENCE

LUMINOSITY

LUMINOUS

LUMINOUS EFFICACY

LUMINOUS EFFICACY, SPECIAL

LUNDQUIST NUMBER

M

MACH NUMBER

MACH NUMBER, MAGNETIC

MAGNETIC REYNOLDS NUMBER

MAGNETISATION

MAGNETOMOTIVE FORCE

MANNING ROUGHNESS COEFFICIENT (also GAUCKLER–MANNING COEFFICIENT)

MARANGONI NUMBER

MARKSTEIN NUMBER

MASS FRACTION

MASS, MOLAR

MASS, REDUCED

MASS, REST

MASS EXCESS

MASS NUMBER

MEAN LIFE

MECHANICAL ADVANTAGES

MIXING RATIO

MOLAL CONCENTRATION

MOLALITY

MOLAL HEAT CAPACITY

MOLAL HEAT CAPACITY, APPARENT

MOLAL HEAT CAPACITY AT CONSTANT PRESSURE

MOLAL HEAT CAPACITY AT CONSTANT VOLUME

MOLAR

MOLAR CONCENTRATION

MOLARITY

MOLAR MASS

MOLAR POLARIZATION

MOLAR REFRACTION

MOLAR VALUE

MOLAR ROTATION

MOLAR VOLUME

MOLAR GAS CONSTANT

MOMENT

MOMENT, ELECTROMAGNETIC

MOMENT, MAGNETIC

MOMENT OF INERTIA (DYNAMIC)

MOMENT, SECOND

MOMENTUM, ANGULAR

MOMENTUM, KINETIC

MOMENTUM (TRANSLATIONAL or LINEAR)

MORTON NUMBER

MOTION

MOTION, RELATIVE

MOTION, RECTILINEAR

MOTION, CURVILINEAR

N

NEEL TEMPERATURE

NOISE FACTOR

NOISE LEVEL

NOISE LEVEL, PERCEIVED

NORMALITY

NUMBER, ATOMIC

NUMBER DENSITY

NUMBER, MAGNETIC

NUMBER, MASS

NUMBER, NEUTRON

NUSSELT NUMBER

NUSSELT NUMBER FOR MASS FLOW

O

OCTANE NUMBER

OHNESORGE NUMBER

OPACITY

OPTICAL ACTIVITY

P

PACKING DENSITY

PACKING FRACTION

PARTIAL PRESSURE (of Substance B)

PÉCLET NUMBER

PÉCLET NUMBER OF MASS TRANSFER

PELTIER COEFFICIENT

PERIOD

PERMEABILITY

PERMEABILITY, ABSOLUTE

PERMEABILITY, RELATIVE

PERMEABILITY COEFFICIENT

PERMEANCE

PERMITTIVITY, ABSOLUTE

PERMITTIVITY, COMPLEX

PERMITTIVITY, RELATIVE

pH VALUE

PHASE

PHASE ANGLE

PHASE COEFFICIENT

PHASE DIFFERENCE

PHASE DISPLACEMENT

Pi

PITCH

PLANCK CONSTANT

PLANCK CONSTANT, RATIONALIZED

PLANCK FUNCTION

PLANCK LENGTH

PLANCK MASS

POISSON'S RATIO

POLARIZATION, DIELECTRIC

POLARIZATION ELECTRICAL

POLARIZATION, ELECTRONIC

POLARIZATION, MAGNETIC

POLARIZATION, MOLECULAR

POLE STRENGTH, MAGNETIC

POP

POROSITY

POTENTIAL

POTENTIAL, CHEMICAL

POTENTIAL, ELECTRIC

POTENTIAL, GRAVITATIONAL

POTENTIAL, INNER ELECTRIC

POTENTIAL, KINETIC

POTENTIAL, MAGNETIC

POTENTIAL, THERMODYNAMIC

POTENTIAL, VELOCITY

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE, ELECTRIC

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE: MAGNETIC

POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE, THERMAL

POTENTIAL ENERGY

POWER

POWER, OPTICAL

POWER FACTOR

POWER LEVEL

POWER, THERMOELECTRIC

POYNTING VECTOR

PRANDTL NUMBER

PRESSURE

PRESSURE, SOUND

PRESSURE COEFFICIENT

PRESSURE LEVEL, SOUND

PRESSURE LOSS COEFFICIENT

PRINCIPAL SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITIES RATIO

PROPAGATION COEFFICIENT

PULSITNCE

Q

Q-FACTOR

QUALITY FACTOR

QUANTITY OF ELECTRICITY

QUANTITY OF LIGHT

R

RADIANCE

RADIANCE, SPECTRAL:

RADIANCY

RADIANT ENERGY

RADIANT ENERGY DENSITY (SI radiometry unit)

RADIANT EXITANCE

RADIANT EXPOSURE

RADIANT FLUX:

RADIANT INTENSITY

RADIOSITY:

RADIOSITY, SPECTRAL:

RATIO OF HEAT CAPACITIES

RAYLEIGH NUMBER

REACTANCE, ACOUSTICAL

REACTANCE, ELECTRICAL

REACTANCE, MECHANICAL

REACTANCE, SPECIFIC ACOUSTICAL

REACTIVE CURRENT

REACTIVE VOLTAGE

REACTIVITY

REDUCTION FACTOR, SOUND

REFLECTANCE

REFLECTIVITY

REFLECTION COEFFICIENT

REFLECTION DENSITY

REFRACTIVE INDEX, ABSOLUTE

RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS FACTOR

RELUCTANCE

REYNOLD NUMBER

RESILIENCE

RESISTANTCE, ACOUSTICAL

RESISTANCE, ELECTRICAL

RESISTANCE, MECHANICAL

RESISTANCE, SPECIFIC ACOUSTICAL

RESISTANCE, THERMAL

RESISTIVITY

RESISTIVITY, MASS

RESPONSE TIME

RESISTIVITY, THERMAL

RESTITUTION COEFFICIENT (COEFFICIENT OF RESTITUTION (COR))

RICHARDSON NUMBER

RIGIDITY, MAGNETIC

RIGIDITY MODULUS

ROCKWELL NUMBER

ROLLING RESISTANCE

ROSHKO NUMBER

ROSSBY NUMBER

ROUGHNESS (or SURFACE FLATNESS)

ROUSE NUMBER

S

SAE NUMBER (SAE number)

SATURATION RATIO

SCATTERING COEFFICIENT

SCHMIDT NUMBER

SECTION MODULUS

SEDIMENTATION COEFFICIENT

SEEBECK COEFFICIENT

SENSATION LEVEL

SHAPE FACTOR

SHEAR, ANGLE OF

SHEAR MODULUS

SHERWOOD NUMBER

SOMMERFELD NUMBER

SPECIFIC

SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY (MASS BASIS)

SPECIFIC HEAT CAPACITY (VOLUME BASIS)

SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT OF FUSION

SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT OF SUBLIMATION

SPECIFIC LATENT HEAT OF VAPORIZATION

SPECTRAL EXITANCE

SPECTRAL EXPOSURE

SPECTRAL FLUX

SPECTRAL INTENSITY

SPECTRAL IRRADIANCE

SPECTRAL RADIANCE (Specific intensity)

SPEED

STANTON NUMBER

STANTON NUMBER FOR MASS TRANSFER

STAUDINGER VALUE

STEFAN NUMBER

STERADIANCY

STIFFNESS, ACOUSTICAL

STIFFNESS (MECHANICAL)

STOKES NUMBER

STRAIN

STRENGTH (OF A SOURCE), SOUND

STROUHAL NUMBER

STUART NUMBER

SUNSPOT NUMBER (also called WOLF NUMBER)

SURFACE TENSION

SUSCEPTANCE

SUSCEPTIBILITY, ELECTRIC

SUSCEPTIBILITY, MAGNETIC

T

TAYLOR NUMBER

TELEPHONE TRAFFIC INTENSITY

TEMPERATURE

TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT

TEMPERATURE GRADIENT

TENSION

TENSION, ELECTRIC

TENSION, MECHANICAL

THOMSON COEFFICIENT

THROUGHPUT

THRUST

TIME

TRAFIC FACTOR

TRANSFER COEFFICIENT, HEAT

TRANSMISSION COEFFICIENT

TRANSMISSION DENSITY, INTERNAL

TRANSMISSIVITY

TRANSMITTANCE

TRANSMITTANCE, INTERNAL

TRANSMITTANCE, THERMAL

TRANSMITTANCY

U

URSELL NUMBER

V

VAPOUR CONCENTRATION

VAPOUR DENSITY

VECTOR POTENTIAL, MAGNETIC

VELOCITY

VELOCITY, ANGULAR

VELOCITY GRADIENT

VELOCITY POTENTIAL

VELOCITY RATIO

VISCOSITY

VISCOSITY, KINEMATIC

VISCOSITY, MAGNETIC

VISCOSITY, SPECIFIC

VOLTAGE

VOLUME

VOLUME, ATOMIC

VOLUME FLOW RATE

VOLUME, MOLAR

VOLUME, SPECIFIC

W

WALLIS PARAMETER

WAVE LENGTH

WAVE NUMBER

WEBER NUMBER

WEIGHT

WEIGHT DENSITY

WEIGHT, SPECIFIC

WEISSENBERG NUMBER

WOMERSLEY NUMBER

WORK

Y

YOUNG'S MODULUS

Z

ZEL'DOVICH NUMBER

Section 2  Tables of quantities and Physical & Mathematical Constants

Section 2 Tables of quantities

Table -1 Dimensionless Quantities

List of dimensionless quantities

References

Table – 2  SI Dimensions of Physical Quantities: Alphabetic List

SI Dimensions of Physical Quantities: Alphabetic List

References

Table -3: SI Dimensions of Physical Quantities listed by Category

References

Table -4: Constants of Physics and Mathematics

References:  Constants of Physics,

Table -5: Mathematical Constants and Sequences

References

General

G.1 Quantities and Units

Adam Smith is talking about the cultural origin of the traditional units, which were more organic and less logical than the life needed. He talked upon the need for modern units as SI units.

G.1.1 Meaning of Quantity

In English, the word quantity means the amount or number of something, especially that can be measured (Cambridge Dictionary). A quantity, in the general sense, is a property ascribed to phenomena, bodies, or substances that can be quantified for or assigned to a particular phenomenon, body, or substance. Examples are mass and electric charge.

A quantity, in a particular sense, is a quantifiable or assignable property ascribed to a particular phenomenon, body, or substance. Examples are the mass of the moon and the electric charge of the proton.

A physical quantity is a physical property of a material or system that can be quantified by measurement. A physical quantity can be expressed as a value, which is the algebraic multiplication of a ' Numerical value ' and a ' Unit '. For example, the physical quantity of mass can be quantified as '32.3 kg ', where '32.3' is the numerical value and 'kg' is the unit. A physical quantity, accordingly, can be used in the mathematical equations of science and technology.

A physical quantity, as mentioned by Jeff Flowers, possesses at least two characteristics in common.

-  Numerical magnitude.

-  Units

A unit is a particular physical quantity defined and adopted by convention, with which other particular quantities of the same kind are compared to express their value.

The value of a physical quantity is the quantitative expression of a particular physical quantity as the product of a number and a unit, the number being its numerical value. Thus, the numerical value of a particular physical quantity depends on the unit in which it is expressed.

For example, the value of the height hW of the Washington Monument is hW = 169 m = 555 ft. Here hW is the physical quantity, its value expressed in the unit Meter, unit symbol m, is 169 m, and its numerical value when expressed in Meters is 169. However, the value of hW expressed in the unit foot, symbol ft, is 555 ft, and its numerical value, when expressed in feet, is 555.

G.1.1.1 Symbols and Nomenclature of Physical Quantities

Each physical quantity has a name and symbol. International recommendations for the use of symbols for quantities are set out in ISO/IEC 80000, the IUPAP red book and the IUPAC green book. For example, the recommended symbol for the physical quantity mass is m, and the recommended symbol for the quantity electric charge is Q.

Tables given in the next section give the symbol of some of the physical quantities.

G.1.1.2 Use of Subscripts and Indices with the Symbols

Sometimes the symbol of the quantity has a subscript.  Subscripts are used for two reasons, to simply attach a name to the quantity or associate it with another quantity or index a specific component (e.g., row or column).

Name reference:

The quantity has a subscripted or superscripted single letter, group of letters, or complete word, to label what concept or entity they refer to, often to distinguish it from other quantities with the same main symbol. These subscripts or superscripts tend to be written in upright roman typeface rather than italics, while the main symbol representing the quantity is in italics. For instance, Ek or Ekinetic is usually used to denote kinetic energy and E p or E potential is usually used to denote potential energy.

Quantity reference:

The quantity has a subscripted or superscripted single letter, group of letters, or complete word, to paraMeterize what measurement/s they refer to. These subscripts or superscripts tend to be written in italic rather than upright roman typeface; the main symbol representing the quantity is in italics. For example, cp or cpressure is heat capacity at the pressure given by the quantity in the subscript.

The type of subscript is expressed by its typeface: 'k' and 'p' are abbreviations of the words kinetic and potential, whereas p (italic) is the symbol for the physical quantity pressure rather than an abbreviation of the word.

Indices: The use of indices is for mathematical formalism using index notation.

G.1.1.3. Size

Physical quantities can have different sizes, such as a scalar, a vector, or a tensor. (Ref. Wikipedia)

Scalars

A scalar is a physical quantity that has magnitude but no direction. Symbols for physical quantities are usually chosen to be a single letter of the Latin or Greek alphabet and are printed in italic type.

Vectors

Vectors are physical quantities that possess both magnitude and direction and whose operations obey the axioms of a vector space. Symbols for physical quantities that are vectors are in bold type, underlined or with an arrow above. For example, if u is the speed of a particle, then the straightforward notations for its velocity are u, u, or 

Tensors

Scalars and vectors are the simplest tensors, which can be used to describe more general physical quantities. For example, the Cauchy stress tensor possesses magnitude, direction, and orientation qualities.

G.1.2 Meaning of Measurement

Performing a measurement means comparing an unknown physical (or chemical or engineering) quantity with a quantity of the same type taken as a reference using an instrument.

A measurement necessarily involves a reference frame and, therefore, units. Hundreds of years back, there were numerous number of units that had little in common with each other. The first coherent system of units only appeared with the French Revolution: the metric system. This system was internationally ratified by the Meter Convention on May 20, 1875, a diplomatic treaty that set up the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM).

In 1960, during the eleventh Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures (CGPM), the International System of Units, the SI, was developed. It now includes two classes of units:

Base unites;

Derived units.

We must not believe, however, that once set up, this system is fixed. Progress made in science, technology, and the new requirements from society and, therefore, the needs in terms of increased accuracy will lead the LNE and all national metrology institutes to continuously improve the practical realization of all SI units. And this concern involves the references as well as the means for transfer to the users to allow matching, at best, these new needs. Definitions of units sometimes need to be changed and new definitions added.

G.1.3 Dimensions, Units, Conversion Factors, and Significant Digits

G.1.3.1 Dimensions and Units

Differences between Dimensions and Units

There is a difference between dimensions and units. A dimension is a measure of a physical variable (without numerical values), while a unit is a way to assign a number or measurement to that dimension.

For example, length is a dimension, but it is measured in units of feet (ft) or Meters (m).

There are three primary unit systems in use today:

the International System of Units (SI units, from Le Systeme International d’Unites, more commonly simply called metric units)

the English Engineering System of Units (commonly called English units)

the British Gravitational System of Units (BG).

The latter two are similar, except for the choice of primary mass unit and use of the degree symbol, as discussed below.

Note: Besides the three primary units of systems, which will be discussed in detail throughout this book, many others will be introduced, e.g., the Gaussian system and others.

Primary dimensions and units

In total, there are seven primary dimensions. Primary (sometimes called basic) dimensions are defined as independent or fundamental dimensions from which other dimensions can be obtained.

The primary dimensions are mass, length, time, temperature, electric current, amount of light, and amount of matter. For most mechanical and thermal science analyses, however, only the first four of these are required. The others will not be of concern to most mechanical engineering analyses.

In order to assign numbers to these primary dimensions, primary units must be assigned. These are listed in Table- G1.1 below for the three unit systems:

Table- G1.1 Primary dimensions and unis

All other dimensions can be derived as combinations of these seven primary dimensions. These are called secondary dimensions, with their corresponding secondary units. A few examples are given in Table- G1.2:

Table – G1.2 Secondary Dimensions and Units

Note that there are many other units, both metric and English, in use today. For example, power is often expressed in units of Btu/hr, Btu/s, cal/s, ergs/s, or horsepower, in addition to the standard units of watt and ft. lbf/s. There are conversion factors listed in many textbooks to enable conversion from any of these units to any other.

Note: The secondary dimensions and units will be given in detail latter

G.1.3.2 Gravitational conversion constant, gc

Some authors define a gravitational conversion constant, gc, which is inserted into Newton’s second law of motion. I.e., instead of F = m⋅ a, they write F = m⋅ a/gc, where gc is defined in the English Engineering System of Units as

and in SI units as

The present author discourages the use of this constant since it leads to much confusion. Instead, Newton’s law should remain in the fundamental form in which it was created, without an artificial constant thrown into the equation, simply for the unit’s sake.

There has been much confusion (and numerical error!) because of the differences between lbf, LBM, and slug. The use of gc has complicated and further confused the issue, in this author’s opinion. The following is an attempt to clarify some of this confusion:

The relationship between force and mass units

The relationship between force, mass, and acceleration can be clearly understood with Newton’s second law. The following is provided to avoid confusion, especially with English units.

Case 1: SI units:

English units:

G.1.3.3 The Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity

In any equation, each additive term must have the same dimensions. In simple terms, you cannot add apples and oranges.

Example - The area of a rectangle is the product of its width and its height, A = W H. The dimensions of both terms in this equation are {length²}. The equation A = H is clearly wrong, i.e., it is dimensionally inconsistent since the dimensions of the left term are {length²} while those of the right term are {length}.

The Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity is sometimes useful when checking the algebra of a problem solution. Namely, dimensional inconsistency in an equation is a sure sign of an algebraic error!

The Principle of Dimensional Homogeneity also extends to units. The best way to avoid unit errors is to list the units along with any numbers supplied to an equation. Also, it is best to introduce conversion factors in the form of ratios. In the above example, suppose the width W of the rectangle is 48.0 inches, and the Height H is 2.0 feet. The area A is desired in square feet and is calculated correctly as follows:

A = W H = (48.0 in) (2.0 ft) (1 ft / 12 in) = 8.0 ft².

G.3.1.4 Significant Digits

Since the proliferation of calculators in the 1970s, the concept of significant digits has been largely ignored. As a result, many students and practicing engineers today present answers to five, six, or more digits, even when only two or three digits are significant. Many students, for example, will write out every digit (perhaps eight or ten) that is displayed on their calculators, never even thinking about how many of those digits are actually meaningful. The present author encourages all students and engineers to consider significant digits in all written forms of communication - reports, papers, homework, exams, etc. Below is a discussion of the meaning and application of significant digits in engineering.

By default, an integer has an infinite number of significant digits. For example, the number 43 implies exactly 43, as when counting the number of students in a classroom. Unfortunately, many authors do not follow this convention, and it is unclear to the reader how many significant digits there really are, especially when there are trailing zeroes.

The number of significant digits is determined by the overall accuracy of a measurement. For example, suppose the diameter of a pipe is measured to be 2.53 mm. By convention, the measurement is only good to the least significant digit; here, the micrometer is accurate to 0.01 mm, but the exact diameter may lie anywhere between 2.525 and 2.535 mm. In this example, the reading is good to three significant digits.

When considering the number of significant digits, leading zeroes for numbers below unity do not count, but zeroes within a value do count. For example, 0.367 has three significant digits - the leading zero does not count. Note that this same value can be written in exponential notation as 3.67 x 10-1, where the number of significant digits is more obvious. Consider the value 34.05. The zero here does count, so the value has four significant digits.

Trailing zeroes are a little more tricky, especially when not using exponential notation. For example, suppose a pressure reading of 101,300 Pascals is given. It is not obvious how many (if any) of the trailing zeroes are significant. Most likely, the pressure gauge is only accurate to a hundred Pascals, so it is more appropriate to write this measurement as 101.3 kPa, avoiding the trailing zeroes altogether. The number of significant digits, in this case, is four. A reading of 101.30 kPa implies that the trailing zero is significant and the total number of significant digits is five.

If trailing zeroes are significant, there are two ways to indicate this: First, use exponential notation, which clearly indicates the accuracy. For example, if a reading of 1000 is accurate to all four digits, one would write it as 1.000 x 10³. Second, one can write 1000. as the numerical value. The decimal point at the end of the number indicates that all three zeroes are significant. It is understood, then, that 1000. represents four significant digits of accuracy. In this same example, if only three digits are significant, one would write the value as 1.00 x 10³. If the exponential notation is not desired, but one still wishes to indicate the number of digits, one can write 1000 to three significant digits.

Here is an important rule to remember: When performing calculations or manipulations of several paraMeters, the final result is only as accurate as the least accurate parameter in the problem. For example, suppose A and B are multiplied to obtain C. If A = 2.3601 (five significant digits), and B = 0.34 (two significant digits), then C = 0.80 (only two digits are significant in the final result). Note that most students are tempted to write C = 0.802434, with six significant digits, since that is what is displayed on a calculator after multiplying these two numbers. Let's analyze this simple example carefully. Suppose the exact value of B is 0.33501, which is read by the instrument as 0.34. Also, suppose A is exactly 2.3601, as measured by a more accurate instrument. In this case, C = A times B = 0.79066 to five significant digits. Note that our first answer, C = 0.80, is off by one digit in the second decimal place. Likewise, if B is 0.34499, read by the instrument as 0.34, the product of A and B would be 0.81421 to five significant digits. Our original answer of 0.80 is again off by one digit in the second decimal place. The main point here is that 0.80 (to two significant digits) is the best we can expect from this multiplication since, to begin with, one of the values had only two significant digits. Another way of looking at this is to say that beyond the first two digits in the answer, the rest of the digits are meaningless or not significant. For example, if one reports what his calculator displays, i.e., 2.3601 times 0.34 equals 0.802434, the last four digits are meaningless. As shown above, the final result may lie between 0.79 and 0.81 - any digits beyond the two significant digits are not only meaningless but misleading since it implies more accuracy to the reader than is really there.

Most electronic instruments are good to only three significant digits. When in doubt, for most engineering analyses, three digits are usually the maximum that can be expected.

When writing out intermediate results in a calculation, it is okay to record more digits than the number which is significant, as this can avoid round-off